Party-Perfect Drink Recipes

Equip yourself for weekend entertaining with this arsenal of delicious cocktail recipes. Each of these easy drinks, be it a minty margarita or a pomegranate Champagne cocktail, will cement your status as the hostess with the mostest without adding undue stress to your weekend schedule.Looking for more drink ideas? Try our 10 Tasty Cranberry Cocktails. If party food strikes your fancy, check out these 7 crowd-pleasing appetizers.

Throwing a party on Friday night? Combine two yummy flavors with this crowd-pleasing Strawberry Mint Sangria.

How to make it: In a large glass pitcher, combine 2 cups sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, and 1 1/2 ounces brandy. Slowly pour in one bottle of a dry wine, then refrigerate for two hours. When ready to serve, add 12 ounces of club soda and stir gently with a long wooden spoon. Pour into ice-filled glasses, and garnish each glass with a mint sprig.

More From Delish

Champagne Dream

Why wait for a celebration to break out the champagne? Kick off the weekend right by breaking out the bubbly and making this fun fearless fizzy drink called the Champagne Dream.

How to make it: Mix 1 ounce pomegranate liqueur, 1 ounce Cointreau, and 1 ounce fresh orange juice with ice. Then stir in 3 ounces of champagne or sparkling wine. Strain into a champagne flute and garnish with an orange slice for a decorative touch.

Orange Splash

Serve a signature cocktail, like this Orange Splash from Bar Twenty 3 in Nashville.

How to make it: Pour 2 ounces Absolut Citron vodka, 1 ounce Cointreau or triple sec, a splash of fresh lime juice, and a splash of orange juice over ice in a shaker.

Serve on the rocks in a large glass rimmed with sugar and garnished with an orange slice.

Funky Festive Martini

This weekend, make a modern martini — specifically, a Funky Festive Martini — with this recipe from Denver's Funky Buddha Lounge.

How to make it: Pour 1 ounce Stoli Razberi, 1 ounce Stoli Cranberi, a splash of Chambord, and a splash of cranberry juice over ice in a shaker. Shake, strain into a glass, and enjoy!

Strawberry Basil Margarita

Can't get away? Give a backyard or patio party a tropical twist with this exotic Strawberry Basil Margarita, courtesy of Dos Caminos Restaurant in New York City.

Sunday brunch is the perfect time for a refreshing — and intoxicating — grown-up version of a summer treat: frozen pink lemonade.

How to make it: Blend 1 1/2 ounces Stoli Citros vodka, 1 tablespoon sugar, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and a splash of grenadine (to make it pink) with ice, then garnish with a lemon slice.

Teton Toaster

In the mood to stay in? Curl up on the couch with a warm cocktail. The Teton Toaster originates from the Calico Bar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but here's how you can make it at home.

How to make it: Pour 3/4 ounce Tuaca (an Italian liqueur), 3/4 ounce Kahlúa, and 1/4 ounce Baileys Irish Cream into a mug, then fill to the rim with hot coffee, stir well, and cover with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Apple Crisp

If you like fruity drinks, you'll love this intoxicating Apple Crisp, courtesy of Laurence Kretchmer of Bar Americain in New York.

How to make it: Add 4 ounces applejack, 4 ounces fresh lemon juice, and 1 ounce Cointreau or triple sec, and shake vigorously. Pour into a tall glass with ice and garnish with a speared crab apple cut in half.

Warm Spiked Cider

Who says fall is the only time you can indulge in this specialty drink?

Go ahead and make your own: Mix 3/4 ounce bourbon or another whiskey, 3/4 ounce apple liqueur, and 5 ounces heated cider in a mug. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.